One of the problems in demystifying artificial intelligence is that once an AI-based product reaches the public, “we stop calling it AI,” said Tara Chklovski, the CEO and founder of Iridescent, a nonprofit that aims to educate and empower children and their parents on engineering and technology matters.

Instead, she went on, “we call it GPS.”

This is true. And it’s a significant truth because it means the world of AI stays mired in the average person’s mind as something of a science fiction-type character — a Terminator programmed to kill, a Matrix hero designed to liberate, a Star Wars robot set to serve.

But AI is not one and the same as a robot. Simply put, AI is everywhere.